Madam, Eighty years ago J Ramsay MacDonald, a Laborite from Lossiemouth in Scotland and MP for Aberavon was running his disastrous Conservative coalition, without the support of his own party, and the country was in what was very likely the worst economic slump in its history. Incidentally some tidy-minded German was thinking about setting light to the Berlin parliament building at roughly the same time.

However, town councils were still managing to empty our dust-bins, weekly and this included the ashes from the almost universal open-grate coal fires. The coal was usually delivered by horse-drawn carts, very often down un-metalled roads.

So I felt sorry for Councillor John Jarvis when I read that he was cancelling the supply of black bags; because, if I had been forced into this position, I would have resigned already. He has not told us how he thinks folk should dispose of their banana skins in future. But my inquiries out in the country produce the response that this sort of stuff will now have to go in the re-cycling bin.

In which case we are going to have to revert to weekly collections, at very much greater expense. In any event this is a deceitful way of imposing an extra levy without any authority whatsoever.

K Horne, Gorsley.